Emily sat in the backseat of her own car as her reddened eyes focused on the bright light from the moon that shined in the dark sky. The other two Gilbert siblings wouldn't allow her to drive home from the boarding house, so Elena was in the drivers seat while Jeremy sat in the passengers. They thought Emily wouldn't be able to focus on driving - which was true. Emily could barely think straight as her mind was still trying to process Mason's death.
"We're here," Elena's loud voice suddenly broke the human girl out of her cluttered mind.
Emily looked through the front window of her car in confusion before she realized they were already home. She didn't even hear the engine shut off or the short conversation her sister and brother had. The only thing she did notice was the worried looks on their faces, which she ignored.
Emily just wanted to be alone with her thoughts for a while. She didn't like the looks her siblings were giving her. It made her feel like a weak little girl. Emily opened the car door so she could go inside the Gilbert house, but was soon stopped when she heard Elena's voice once again, "are you okay?"
Emily looked over at her twin sister with a small shrug and whispered, "I don't know."
Elena quietly nodded her head as she watched the human girl closely. She was worried about her sister. Emily was never this silent, even when their parents died. She would always try to make everyone else feel better. So, Elena didn't know exactly how she was supposed to comfort her sister when it was usually Emily doing the comforting. "I'm sorry we had to do that, Emmie. But Mason would have put us all in danger," Elena told her sister as softly as she could.
"Yeah, I know," Emily whispered sadly as she played with the sleeve of her leather jacket. She didn't blame anyone for what happened, she just wish it didn't. "I'll be fine," Emily told her siblings. She slipped on the fake smile she would be using to conceal the hurt she was feeling and added, "I always am," before she got out of her car and made her way to the Gilbert house.
Emily silently walked towards the kitchen with her two worried siblings hovering over her as she heard voices coming from that direction. But as she stood at the edge of the kitchen, Emily couldn't help the real smile that worked on her face when she saw Alaric and Jenna joking and laughing together. She was glad that at least someone could be normal and happy in this hellish town.
"Hey guys!" Jenna exclaimed once she noticed her two nieces and nephew walking into the kitchen. "We're making dinner," she stated before she giggled and added, "well, Ric says he's making dinner but I might order a pizza if he burns down the kitchen."
"Oh, come on!" Alaric groaned, "it's not like I can mess up tacos."
"You would be surprised," Emily commented as she grabbed a chip from the kitchen table. "Elena burnt and ruined tacos one time," she stated as she threw her sister a smirk.
"Hey!" Elena yelped defensively. "This isn't about me, this is about Alaric and if he can make some tacos," she uttered with a chuckle.
"Well, while you guys make sure Ric doesn't burn down the house, I am going to go change clothes," Emily told her family before she got up from the kitchen table.
"Wait, why are you so wet?" Jenna questioned as she rose an eyebrow at her oldest niece.
Emily's eyes quickly moved over to Elena as she mumbled, "uh..." Emily's mind was totally blank. She usually would be able to lie on the spot, but with her mind all scrambled, she couldn't think of what to tell her aunt. But, thankfully she didn't have to think for too long.
"I pushed her into the pond at the Lockwood's today!" Elena quickly told her aunt as she covered for her sister.
Jenna looked at Elena in disbelief as she questioned, "really?" The strawberry blonde moved her eyes to the other twin as she wondered, "and you didn't get her back?" It was unusual for the oldest girl not to get back at Elena after she pranks or messes with her.
"There's still time," Emily called out loudly as she headed upstairs to her bedroom with the sound of her family's laughter and Elena's groaning trailing behind her.
Emily heaved out a heavy sigh once she closed her bedroom door and was inside of her safe haven. She sealed her eyes shut as she relaxed against the wood that blocked her from the rest of the world. She was relieved that she could now lose her false happy attitude and her fake smile. Emily had barely been around her family, and she was already exhausted from acting like she was okay.
Emily slowly took off her sticky and wet clothes as she moved off of her bedroom door and made her way towards her closet. Once she threw her damp clothes into the ocean blue hamper, she opened the door to her closet and grabbed the first thing she could find, which thankfully was a pair of comfy Adidas leggings and one of her favorite shirts.
Emily stood in front of her full body mirror after she was finally dressed in some warm clothes. But as she stared at her reflection, Emily realized just how bad she looked. She was surprised Jenna didn't ask why she looked like she cried a river. Emily's usually bright green eyes were now dull and surrounded by red blotchy spots. Emily's hair wasn't any better as her single braid was falling apart and looked like she rolled around in a pile of leaves.
Emily huffed out a sigh as she roughly pulled the hair tie from her brown hair and went to place it into a messy bun. But as she tried to fix her hair, Emily noticed how badly her hands were shaking. "No, stop it," Emily growled under her breath as she felt fresh hot tears beginning to drop slowly down her cheeks.
Emily threw the black hair tie at the mirror after a few seconds and yelled out in aggravation as she gave up on fixing her hair. She just stared at her reflection while she squeezed her fingernails into her palms as she tried to stop the shaking of her hands. She hated feeling this weak. But Emily knew what was coming as she felt her walls beginning to fall apart now that she was alone and could grieve properly.
Emily was feeling so many emotions all at once. She felt pain because she lost another person at the young age of seventeen. She felt guilty that she didn't do more than just watch it happen. But most of all, Emily was angry at Mason. She was angry at him because he left her alone in this horrible world. Mason was her hero, her big brother, and now he was just gone like everyone else she had ever loved.
The grieving girl forced herself to sit onto her bed as she felt her whole body beginning to tremble. Emily didn't know how to control her feelings right now. It wasn't like when her parents died. She didn't know that was going to happen. But this, she knew Mason was going to die. So, it made everything so much worse.
The exhaustion was taking a large toll on her body, so Emily slowly laid onto her soft pillow and curled into a ball as tears continued to make their way down her face. However, as Emily stared blankly at her wooden dresser, something suddenly caught her attention. She tiredly got out of the bed and tip toed to her dresser, where she noticed a picture frame that was calling to her. Emily shakily grabbed the frame and studied the picture of her, Tyler, and Mason. She remembered the moment instantly. It was the day before Mason left town when she and Tyler were twelve. They were all sitting together at the Grill and enjoying milkshakes.
Emily felt anger began to take over her body as she realized Mason would never be able to take her out for milkshakes ever again nor would he be able to scare guys away from her like he did when she was growing up. Mason was just gone from her life and there was no getting him back. Emily angrily squeezed the picture frame in her small hands before she suddenly threw it at the wall with all the energy she had left.
However, the anger didn't last long before she felt the pain take over her body once again. She would rather be angry instead of the sadness she was now feeling. The anger was easy to handle, nothing a bottle of bourbon and sleep couldn't fix. But sadness couldn't be helped with a strong bottle of alcohol, it just had to slowly work itself out - which Emily despised.
Emily slid down to the floor and cradled her knees into her chest as tears and sobs continuously left her sore body. She felt just like the picture frame that shattered on the hardwood floor of her bedroom - broken. The agony she was feeling was too much for the young girl. She just wanted to be okay again.
The Gilbert girl pushed her tear stricken face into her knees as she tried to quiet her crying and sobbing. She didn't want to disturb her family nor did she want them to come and check on her. However, that didn't really plan out because not even a second later, her bedroom door was busted open with a wide eyed Elena standing at the threshold.
"Emily," Elena whispered carefully as her black and white converse crunched under the broken glass. The vampire slowly moved in front of her twin sister as she tried not to cause her anymore pain. "Hey, what's wrong?" She questioned softly.
"I miss Mason," Emily whispered in a hoarse voice as her body shook.
Elena's unbeating heart broke as she stared down at the mourning girl. "I know," she whispered before she took a seat on the hard floor and pulled Emily into her chest. Elena began to rock her twin sister back and forth just like their mother used to do when they would cry as children. "But you are going to be okay," Elena promised before she questioned, "and do you know how I know that?"
"How?" Emily wondered quietly as she relaxed against her sister's chest.
Elena smiled as she tucked Emily's head under her chin before she confessed softly, "because you are the strongest person I have ever known."
Emily quickly shook her head and mumbled, "I'm not."
"Yes, you are," Elena argued immediately. "You think I'd want someone weak as my hero?" She questioned before she continued without waiting for her sister's answer, "if I thought you were weak, I would have picked Wonder Woman or Princess Leia. But no, I picked you as my hero the second you punched that girl, Cora, in the face in kindergarten for me."
"She stole your pudding cup," Emily muttered under her breath before she added dismissively, "and you are making a huge mistake if you don't pick Leia as your hero."
"That's besides the point," Elena stated with a small chuckle. "You have always been so strong. You have never let anything take you down. You always fought and fought whatever was thrown in front of you," Elena told her twin sister. "Emmie, you can't give up now," she begged in a soft voice.
The human girl didn't bother saying anything, instead she thought about what Elena was saying while the aforementioned vampire hummed a small tune that calmed Emily instantly. "You wanna know something?" Elena questioned gently after a few minutes passed.
Emily nodded her head and mumbled, "sure."
"I was always jealous how you were after mom and dad died. I never knew how you could just put a smile on your face and walk out of the house like everything was fine. But I think I figured it out. You only did it because you wanted Jer and I to be happy, so you sacrificed yourself so we could," Elena confessed to her twin sister before she added with a soft smile, "you have always been the strong sibling. So, I know for certain that you are going to be okay, because that is just how Emily Gilbert is."
"I don't think I can be that girl anymore," Emily told the vampire as she played with her fingers.
"Yes, you can," Elena argued. She grabbed onto her sister's left hand and made Emily stare into her brown eyes. "You are going to get through this. You have gone through tomb vampires, you have dealt with Isobel, and that's not even the half of it. You have survived so much, Emmie. So, yes, you can get through this too, I promise you," Elena stated with a strong voice as she tried to convince her sister.
Emily couldn't help but fall for her twin sister's words. Everything Elena was saying was the truth. She could get through this. Death is nothing compared to all the things she had endured. It might take months or even years, but she would survive this pain. Plus, Emily knew Mason would be mad at her if she didn't continue to live her life because of him.
"Okay," Emily finally whispered to her sister in a much steadier voice than the one she had been using in the last couple of hours.
Elena turned her torso to the side and looked into Emily's green eyes with a bright smile. "I'll be right next to you whenever you decide you need me," she promised. Elena brought her twin sister into a tight hug and whispered in her ear, "you are so strong and I love you so much."
Emily hugged her sister just as tight and spoke truthfully, "I love you too and thank you."
"I'll always be here for you," Elena stated. She quietly stood up from the hard uncomfortable ground before she helped her sister do the same. "We should probably get back downstairs before Jenna comes looking for us. I told her I was coming to get you since she was starting to complain about you taking so long to change clothes," she explained with a small chuckle.
Emily nodded her head in agreement before she groaned when she tried to run her fingers through her rat nested hair. She rose an eyebrow at her twin sister as she questioned, "could you deal with this?"
Elena grinned excitedly as she exclaimed, "yes, of course," before she grabbed the hairbrush from Emily's dresser. She always loved brushing her sister's shoulder length mane. They used to brush each other's brown hair all the time when they were younger. Elena carefully ran the hairbrush through the tangles as softly as she could, but apologized every couple of seconds when she felt her sister flinch. "There!" Elena stated proudly after a couple of minutes.
"Thanks," Emily praised gently as she brushed her hair behind her ears before she looked into Elena's soft brown eyes and added, "for everything."
Elena linked her arm with Emily's as they slowly left the human girl's bedroom. "I always got your back, you know that," Elena declared before the two sisters made their way back towards the kitchen with much happier attitudes.
"Hey! There you are!" Jenna exclaimed once she saw her two nieces. "What were you doing up there?" She wondered before she took a large gulp from her wine glass.
Emily gave her aunt a tiny smile and stated as she made up an excuse for her absence, "I made Elena brush my hair." She shrugged her shoulders and added, "just one of her punishments for pushing me into the lake today."
"Hey!" Elena yelped in shock as she played along with her twin sister, "I thought we called a truce!"
Jenna shook her finger at the two female siblings and stated, "the Gilberts don't know the meaning of a truce."
"You got that right, Jennie," Emily told her aunt before she threw her twin sister a smile which had a lot of meaning that the two girls only knew about. Emily was grateful to have Elena as her sister and help her move forward from this horrible event and to be happy again.
Elena moved over to the kitchen counter and leaned against it beside her brother before she wondered, "so, did you guys end up ordering a pizza or did Alaric succeed in making tacos?"
"Actually, we have both," Jeremy informed his vampire sister, "Jenna thought Alaric was going to fail, so we now have two dinners."
"Hey!" Jenna exclaimed, "in my defense, he did burn the first batch of shrimp."
"Well, I don't care," Emily stated as she shrugged her shoulders, "double dinner is always fine in my book." She gave her family a tiny grin before she joined Alaric at the kitchen table, where he was cutting up a couple of tomatoes and onions.
"Hey," Alaric whispered to the brunette girl, "are you okay? Elena told me what happened today."
Emily gave the vampire hunter a small nod as she answered, "I will be." She moved her green eyes towards the kitchen, where she saw her two siblings and aunt laughing together as they joked around. Emily looked back to Alaric with a smile full of content as she added, "I have my family, so I'll be just fine."
Alaric gave the young girl a small grin and uttered with a nod of his head, "good." He glanced over to the strawberry blonde before he pushed his full glass of bourbon towards Emily. "Here. I bet you are craving this," he joked.
"Oh, you know me so well," Emily smirked before she grabbed the glass that was filled with the amber liquid. She turned her back to her family before she quickly downed the bourbon.
"Hey!" Jenna yelled as soon as Emily placed the empty glass onto the kitchen table. "Are you giving my niece alcohol?" She questioned before she made her way towards her oldest niece and her boyfriend as she gave Alaric a stern look.
Emily couldn't help but chuckle at her aunt. She knew Jenna wasn't really serious. The strawberry blonde always tries to act like she is when she's drinking, but always ends up failing. "Like you don't do the same," Emily uttered as she rolled her eyes playfully.
Jenna pointed her finger at Emily and stated with a pout, "but I am the only one that should be letting you have alcohol, missy."
Alaric threw his arm over Jenna's shoulder and kissed his girlfriend's rosy cheek before he told her, "well, good thing I didn't give her a single drop." He threw Emily a smirk as he added, "not even when she begged."
Jenna squinted her eyes as she looked between her boyfriend and niece. She placed her index and middle finger close to her eyes before she pointed them towards the two culprits as she stated, "I'm watching you guys."
However, luckily for the human girl and the vampire hunter, the tipsy strawberry blonde lost interest on keeping a close eye on them when the house phone suddenly began to blare loudly through the kitchen. "I got it! I got it! I got it!" Jenna shouted as she quickly jogged towards the receiver. "Ha!" She yelled when she clumsily grabbed onto the phone before Jeremy could even lay a single finger on it.
Jeremy rolled his eyes and mumbled, "whatever." He crossed his arms over his chest and muttered under his breath stubbornly, "I didn't want to answer it anyways."
Emily chuckled as she watched her brother pout like a five year old and her aunt's happy attitude. She turned and looked over at Alaric as she wondered jokingly, "how early did she start drinking?"
"Way too early," Alaric muttered before he joined in with the chuckling girl.
"Emily!" The aforementioned strawberry blonde yelled as she walked towards her oldest niece with the white house phone in hand. Jenna gently pushed the device towards Emily's chest and stated, "it's for you."
Emily rose an eyebrow at her aunt as she wondered, "who is it?" The Gilbert girl was confused with who was trying to get in contact with her, when everyone knows to call her cell phone when they need her. So, it was strange for Emily to get a call from the house phone.
Jenna only shrugged her shoulders plainly before she walked towards the kitchen counter in an unusual quiet manner and began to chop up some vegetables like Alaric had done without a single sound.
Emily looked at her aunt with furrowed brows but decided to just push Jenna's strange behavior away as she brought the phone up to her ear and greeted the unknown person, "hello?"
"Hello, Emily," a familiar voice spoke smoothly.
Emily instantly froze when she realized who she was talking to. She knew the voice was identical to her twin's but there was an air of confidence that Elena didn't have. Emily's body straightened as she spoke with a strong voice, "what do you want?"
"I want you to walk out of the room, so your annoying sister doesn't hear us," Katherine commanded, "and I want you to act like you are speaking to the blondie."
Emily decided she would listen to Katherine as she didn't want her sister to overreact if she hears the human girl speaking to her doppelganger. So, Emily placed a bright smile on her face and spoke loudly for everyone in the kitchen to hear, "hey, Caroline! Oh? You need to copy my notes for french class? Hold on, let me go upstairs and find it."
Emily gave her twin sister a reassuring smile when she looked over at her before she calmly walked towards the stairs so Elena would think everything was fine and wouldn't find out Emily was talking to the person she despised. "What do you want, Katherine?" Emily growled once she was out of earshot.
"You did well. I see you have the Petrova fire in you," Katherine stated with an obvious smirk, "this is why you are my favorite Gilbert twin. You always listen and don't fight me like your annoying sister."
"Katherine, get to the point of this call," Emily commanded. She hated when people talk down to her sister and she definitely didn't feel like playing any of the vampire's weird mind games.
"Well, you see, I heard Damon did something bad," Katherine began, "he hurt someone that we both cared about."
"Mason," Emily whispered instantly as she knew exactly what Katherine was talking about.
"Yes, correct," Katherine quickly responded. "And I hate when my special toys get broken, so I have to get him and your sister back for this," she added.
"You don't have to do anything," Emily quickly stated as fast as she could. She didn't know what Katherine was planning, but she didn't like the bad feeling she was getting.
"Listen, I like you, Emily. You remind me of my own sister. But they have to pay for this," Katherine told the human girl. "I want to apologize to you right now. I am very sorry to cause you anymore stress and pain. You will always have a special place in my heart," Katherine apologized before explaining her master plan, "but you see, Jenna has been a very important spy for me since Caroline couldn't."
"Katherine, what did you do?" Emily questioned worriedly.
"Well, I took away aunt Jenna's special vervain tea," Katherine uttered before she let a small tsk fall from her mouth and added, "I couldn't have that." Katherine chuckled lightly before continuing, "anyways, mindless Jenna heard from a little birdy that my annoying ex lover and your sister was planning on killing Mason, so I had to have a backup plan if they did actually go through with it."
"Tell me what you did, Katherine," Emily ordered.
"I just did a little compelling during the small chat I had on the phone with sweet naive Jenna," Katherine stated before she added carelessly, "well, you'll find out what I did. But if I were you, I would hurry and maybe you can save her."
Emily's eyes widened as soon as the word 'compelled' was out of the vampire's mouth as she instantly got another bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. The brunette dashed towards the kitchen with the phone clutched into her hand as she yelled as loudly as she could to warn her aunt, "Jenna!" However, what Emily saw was something she definitely wasn't prepared for. She watched helplessly as Jenna blindly stabbed herself with a large knife.
Emily dropped the house phone at the same time as Jenna's body fell to the hard floor of the kitchen. "Oh, my God," Emily finally spoke in a gasp as she quickly sat down on her knees and watched the blood soak up her aunt's light pink blouse. She looked over to her siblings and Alaric, who were shell shocked and commanded desperately, "call 911!"
Emily held her bleeding aunt's face between her shaky fingers as she stared into Jenna's frightened eyes. "Hey, it's okay," she whispered while she tried to keep the strawberry blonde still from making the wound worse. Emily couldn't believe that she thought everything could be fine for even a moment in Mystic Falls. However, that is never the case.
Emily paced up and down the small space that is Jenna's hospital room. She had been waiting for her aunt to wake up ever since the doctor took out the kitchen knife from her stomach over an hour ago. Alaric had informed her that the doctor said Jenna was going to be okay, but Emily was still worried about her aunt.
"Hey," a small hoarse voice suddenly echoed through the silent room.
Emily quickly stopped her pacing and smiled in relief when she saw her aunt's tired hazel eyes watching her. The young girl swiftly walked towards the hospital bed before she grabbed Jenna's hand softly and questioned, "how are you feeling?"
"I feel like I ran into a knife," Jenna responded with a small groan.
Emily chuckled, "yeah, that's exactly what you did."
Jenna's brows furrowed as she wondered, "but why did I do that?" She shook her head as she explained, "I only remember answering the phone and then everything else is just blank."
Emily nodded her head silently as she listened to her aunt. She was glad Jenna didn't remember anything Katherine had told her. It made her feel a little bit better that she didn't have to tell Jenna about the supernatural world. "The doctor said it could have been from a fall you took earlier plus being dehydrated from the alcohol," Emily explained with a small white lie. It was the only way she knew Jenna wouldn't ask too many questions.
"I fell?" Jenna questioned before she mumbled, "I don't remember falling today."
Emily rubbed her aunt's hand softly as she stated, "yeah, you did. Alaric mentioned you tripped and bumped your head this morning." She gave Jenna a small smile as she reassured her aunt, "but you are all fine. You are just going to be a little sore for a couple of days."
"Oh, God," Jenna moaned in embarrassment, "that does sound like something I would do." She looked up to her niece as she wondered, "so, how long am I stuck here, Doc?"
"Well, I have some good news for you, Ms. Sommers," Emily grinned as she grabbed her aunt's medical chart that hung on the end of the hospital bed. She cleared her throat before she studied the chart with a serious look and stated in her best professional voice, "Dr. Gilbert's assessment is that you will only have to stay here for the night."
"That is still too long," Jenna complained.
Emily rolled her eyes at her aunt's stubbornness. "Well, how about you order some Chinese food and I'll let the siblings know you are okay," Emily suggested before adding, "and I'll stay here with you, so you don't get too bored by yourself."
Jenna smiled gratefully at her niece before she shook her head lightly and stated, "you don't have to do that. Ric is probably going to stay anyways."
Emily squeezed her aunt's hand and commented, "don't be silly. I don't mind staying with you." She chuckled as she added, "besides, I sent Ric home earlier when he almost fell asleep standing up."
"Fine, fine. You can stay," Jenna muttered as she rolled her eyes playfully.
Emily grinned at her aunt before she pulled her cell phone out of her black and white purse and handed it over to Jenna. "Now you order some food and I'll go send the small children away," Emily told her aunt with a smirk.
Jenna shook her head as she watched her niece in amusement. "You do know you are one of those small children too, right?" She questioned.
"Nonsense!" Emily exclaimed in fake shock. She walked towards the door of her aunt's room with a chuckle before she turned around and added, "make sure you get me some shrimp fried rice."
"Alright, Miss bossy pants," Jenna mumbled jokingly before she began to dial the familiar number to their favorite Chinese restaurant, Peking Gourmet Inn.
Emily gave her aunt one last look before she began to walk through the small town's hospital to find her two siblings. She gave all of the nurses and doctors polite smiles and waves as she moved around the hallways. Emily had basically grew up in the hospital since her father would always bring her with him when the hospital needed his expertise, so most of the employees knew her.
"Is she okay?" Jeremy and Elena both quickly interrogated at the same time as soon as their oldest sister stepped foot into the small waiting room.
Emily gave her siblings a reassuring smile as she nodded her head. "She's okay, guys. The doctor said she'll be back to one hundred percent in a couple of days."
Jeremy and Elena both breathed out a sigh of relief before the youngest Gilbert asked, "does she remember what happened?"
"Nope," Emily muttered. "I'm guessing Katherine made sure she wouldn't," she explained with a small shrug.
Jeremy looked between his vampire and human sisters as he wondered confusingly, "why would Katherine want to hurt Jenna?"
"Because she's trying to send a message," Elena growled. She hated her doppelganger with a burning passion as the older vampire has tried to ruin everything in her life. But the anger Elena was feeling turned into worry as tears began to form around her brown eyes before she added to her answer, "that she could get to anybody."
"Hey," Emily spoke softly once she noticed the tears in her sister's eyes, "it's okay." She wrapped her arms around Elena's neck as she pulled her sister into her chest. "We're all going to be okay," she promised.
Elena shook her head repeatedly and whispered shakily, "no, it's not and we won't be."
"She's going to pay. I don't know how but she's going to pay," Jeremy snarled as he stared at both of his sisters with fire in his eyes. He didn't take kindly when someone threatens his family. He's very much like Emily in that way.
Emily pulled away from her sister once she heard her brother's words. She stared into Jeremy's brown eyes as she stated, "hey, let's not worry about that tonight." Emily glanced between both of her siblings and added, "you guys should go home. I'll stay here with Jenna."
Elena shook her head as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "I should stay here too," she muttered as strongly as she could. Elena felt drained with everything that had happened since they got home. She didn't know how Emily was still on her feet.
"No, it's okay," Emily told her twin sister as she rubbed one of Elena's shoulders softly. "I got this. You should go home and sleep," she uttered before she glanced over to her brother and added, "the both of you."
"Are you sure?" Elena questioned worriedly as she furrowed her brows. She didn't just want to leave her aunt when something could happen.
Emily gave Elena a small smile as she could see her sister's concern on her face. "Yes, I promise. Jenna will be fine," she told her sister and stated, "I'm just going to keep her company and then you guys can come in the morning so we can take her home."
Elena stared at Emily for a moment before she finally mumbled, "okay," once she knew for sure that Jenna would be fine. She pulled her sister into a tight hug and whispered with a tearful voice, "I love you."
"Hey, look at me," Emily commanded softly as she felt her sister tremble in her arms. She pulled away and grabbed Elena's face gently in her hands before she wiped the tears from Elena's brown eyes. "We're all going to be fine. Just like you told me. We have gone through so much, so we can survive this too," Emily told her twin sister with complete determination in her words.
Elena closed her eyes as she took a deep breath. But once she opened them, Elena nodded her head and repeated what Emily had said so she could actually believe it herself, "we are going to be fine."
Emily gave her sister a small grin, "yes, exactly." She pulled Elena into one last hug as she stated, "and I love you too." Emily looked back into her sister's eyes with a teasing look and added, "now go get some sleep for once."
The vampire Gilbert gave her twin sister a gentle smile as she took a step back before she uttered, "good night."
Emily watched her two siblings begin to walk away but quickly grabbed onto her brother's arm and questioned with furrowed brows, "are you going to be okay?" She always worried about the baby of the family. Emily definitely didn't want him to do anything reckless like go after Katherine.
"I will after Katherine gets what is coming to her," Jeremy responded angrily but his sorrow filled eyes told a different story. He was angry that vampires kept hurting his family, but he was more sad that he was never there in time to help them.
"Jer," Emily spoke softly but stopped before she could say anymore. She knew now that if she tells Jeremy not to do something, it just makes him want to do it even more. Emily sighed before she continued, "just forget about Katherine for one night. You and Elena go home and get a good nights rest and we'll go on from there."
Jeremy wanted to argue with his sister about how Katherine needed to pay and how she couldn't get away with hurting Jenna. But with everything that happened today, he decided to just agree with her. He didn't want to cause his sister anymore stress. "Yeah, okay," Jeremy muttered.
Emily smiled thankfully as she stroked her brother's face softly. "Good," she commented before pulling Jeremy into a tight hug. She laid her head on Jeremy's chest as she whispered, "I love you, Jer. I'm glad you are okay."
Jeremy's hatred for Katherine instantly subdued at the softness in his sister's voice. He could never resist when Emily spoke gently to him. Jeremy laid a kiss on the top of his sister's head and stated, "I love you too. Good night and be careful."
"I will," Emily promised before she pulled away and looked at both of her siblings. "Get home safely," she told them before she watched her brother and sister slowly walk out of the waiting room and out of Mystic Falls Hospital.
Emily stood by the automatic doors of the waiting room as she watched her two siblings leave the building. She waited until she couldn't see them anymore before she turned around and began her journey back to her aunt's room.
"Emily!" The Gilbert girl suddenly heard as she quietly walked through the hallway that her aunt resided on.
Emily turned around with furrowed brows as she didn't know who would be calling for her. But she smiled a polite smile once she noticed Stephanie Jones, an older dark skinned woman, waving Emily towards her work post. "Hello, Mrs. Jones," Emily greeted the woman as she walked up to the receptionist desk.
Stephanie gave the young girl a warm smile and stated, "I have a delivery for you," before she pulled out a large brown paper bag and sat it on top of the large desk.
Emily twitched her head to the side as she stared at the bag in confusion. But a light bulb suddenly went off in her head as she remembered the Chinese food that she and Jenna ordered. "Oh! Thank you," Emily uttered before she began to dig through her black and white purse.
"No, that's okay, sweetie," Stephanie told the young girl once she realized what she was doing. "Your daddy was a mentor of mine, so no need to pay me back," she quickly told the brunette.
Emily ignored the older woman as she pulled out her leather wallet. Stephanie Jones is one of the most familiar people in Mystic Falls Hospital for the Gilbert girl. She used to be Grayson's scrub nurse when he would do surgeries in the hospital before she retired and became a receptionist. Emily opened her wallet and pulled out a twenty and a ten dollar bill as she knew hers and Jenna's meal came to about twenty eight dollars. "My dad taught me manners, Mrs. Jones," Emily explained before she begged, "so, please take the money."
Stephanie rolled her eyes at the young girl and stated, "aright, fine. But the next time I see you, I'm taking you out for lunch," before she reluctantly grabbed the money from the brunette.
Emily gave the older woman a charming smile as she grabbed the take out bag from the desk. "I will hold you to that, Mrs. Jones," Emily stated before she added, "have a good night, ma'am."
Emily moved down the long hallway to her aunt's hospital room as she gave each passing nurse and doctor a wave or a smile once again. Finally, after a couple of minutes, she reached her final destination. Emily knocked on the door before she peaked her head through and stated, "knock knock. I have a special order for a Ms. Sommers."
"It's about time!" Jenna complained before she wondered, "did you walk to China and cook our food yourself?"
Emily rolled her eyes at her aunt's whining as she sat the bag of food on the small table that stood over Jenna's bed. "We did order food across town," she reminded her aunt before she questioned jokingly, "did they give you morphine while I was gone? You're going a little crazy, Jennie."
"Oh, ha ha," Jenna deadpanned. "I'm just hungry," she mumbled before she stated embarrassingly, "and we didn't get the chance to eat tacos or pizza before I went all Billy Loomis on myself."
"Well, at least you didn't go all Jason Voorhees. That would have been way worse," Emily joked as she pulled out Jenna's kung pao chicken and her shrimp fried rice before she placed them onto the rectangular table.
Jenna laughed before she groaned as she placed her hand over her wrapped wound, "don't make me laugh."
Emily shook her head as she chuckled lightly at her aunt before she grabbed a plastic fork from the brown paper bag and handed it to Jenna as she stated, "here you go, Your Majesty."
"Why, thank you," Jenna muttered with a smile before wondering, "so, what movie are we watching?" Jenna's eyes widened not even a second later as she begged, "please tell me you got something to watch instead of these soap operas."
"Jenna, this isn't my first time spending a night in the hospital," Emily scolded her aunt before she began to dig through her purse while she stated, "nurse Jessica on floor three let me borrow an absolute classic." Emily continued to look through her purse for another minute before she finally pulled out the movie. "Ta da!" Emily smiled as she announced the title, "The Breakfast Club!"
"Ooh! Excellent choice!" Jenna commented excitedly. The strawberry blonde chuckled lightly so she wouldn't hurt her wound again before she told her niece, "you know, after me and your mom watched this movie, she had the biggest crush on John Bender."
"No way!" Emily laughed with her eyes widened in disbelief. "Mom was into bad boys?" She questioned with a smirk.
"Oh, yes way!" Jenna exclaimed. "Miranda was all about the bad boys during our younger years. John Bender, Jason Dean, Wade Walker, Sodapop Curtis. You name it, your mom had a poster of them," she gossiped as she remembered the past.
Emily chuckled as she shook her head. She couldn't see her mother with a bad boy. She just didn't seem like that type of girl. "How did she go from bad boys to an inspiring doctor?" Emily wondered.
"She fell in love," Jenna stated simply. "Your mom told me that he was her one true love the moment she laid eyes on him. She would always say; when it's real, nothing else matters," Jenna explained as she recalled the conversation she and Miranda had in their old Sommers house all those years ago.
A small smile made its way onto Emily's face as she listened to her aunt talk about her mother's childhood. She never really got to know any of her mother's embarrassing stories or memories. Emily liked hearing how her mother knew right then and there that her father was the one. However, as she thought about her parents, it made Emily grow sad as she knew she wouldn't get the chance to watch them grow old. Emily shook her head as she tried to wash the sadness from her mind. "Well, how about we go back in time and watch Mr. John Bender be moody as hell through high school," Emily suggested.
Jenna grinned, "sounds like a plan," before she stuffed a large piece of chicken into her very hungry mouth.
"Slow down," Emily scolded her aunt with a chuckle before she silently placed the classic movie into the DVD player. Once she pushed play, Emily took off her sneakers and pulled a chair next to Jenna's bed before she grabbed her food and relaxed with her aunt.
The brunette girl and the strawberry blonde watched the eighties movie together while they ate their Chinese food with laughter and jokes all through the night. Emily was thankful that her aunt wasn't seriously hurt by Katherine's compulsion. She was also glad to spend some alone time with Jenna, despite the circumstances. It was nice to have a good time with someone she loves and take her mind off every horrible thing that happened today.
Sorry it took so long for a new update!
The next chapter coming up is going to be a good one!
xoxo